


The Things We Lost in the Fog

by BrusselsSprout



Series: The Lost Book: Air [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adventure, Air Nomads (Avatar), Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Fire Lord Zuko, Fire Nation (Avatar), Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon, Reincarnation, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-05-18 08:32:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19330921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrusselsSprout/pseuds/BrusselsSprout
Summary: The war has ended, but without air-benders, can there ever be balance?Aang visits his childhood home looking for answers, but all he gets is a strange dream that leads him right back to the Fire Nation and to Zuko. The Avatar and the Fire Lord set out on a journey to retrace the past - revealing the secret history of forgotten heroes, lost airbenders and a friendship that lasts more than a lifetime. In the meantime, Azula tries to untangle the web of a conspiracy.(Sequel to The Great Eggspedition)





	1. Dream-Written

**Author's Note:**

> This story follows after the events described in [The Great Eggspedition](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17707841/chapters/41773775), but can be read also independently. Those who want a short summary of the main events of the previous work, please go to the end-notes
> 
>  
> 
> This fic is partially inspired by this [Tumblr thread](https://royaltealovingkookiness.tumblr.com/post/182492461411/maggiesimpsontheimmortal) on lost airbender theories and similar brainstorming on other threads with the amazing emletish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning:
> 
> There is some sadness in this chapter, with references to the Air Nomad genocide, and a brief description of Aang burying Gyatso.

**_1 BG, Sunstone Island_ **

 

The boy’s eyes darted around the garden, scanning it for the smallest clue. There was just a tiny speck of bright yellow reflected in the droplets of the fountain sculpted in the form of a lizard-crane. He snuck closer soundlessly, pouncing on his target like a tigerdillo. “Got you.”

 

“How did you find me again, Kuzon?” the kid dressed in the Air Nomad outfit asked with dismay.

 

“I’ll always find you, Aang,” Kuzon grinned smugly. His monk friend may have been a great airbender, rumoured to become a master soon, but Kuzon was unbeatable when it came to sneaking around. Any hiding place Aang could come up with, he had already thought of. 

 

“You want to show me those airsteps again?” he asked eagerly.

 

“Fine,” Aang said without enthusiasm. He preferred playing hide and seek to training. But a deal was a deal.

 

Aang stepped behind Kuzon and kept moving in rhythm with him, always staying behind his back. He made it look frustratingly easy, just like a dance. Kuzon tried spinning around suddenly, but Aang was faster and knocked him over with an airblast. Airbenders were the most annoying to fight. Try to grab onto a cloud or wrestle with the wind.

 

“Got you again. You have to be lighter on your feet, hotman” Aang said with a grin and held out his hand to help Kuzon up. Right. That sounded easier said than done. Even though he had lighter steps than any firebender he knew, Kuzon still couldn’t float. 

 

“Easy for you to say, Aang. The air does half the work for you,” he grimaced. As frustrating as this was, he really wanted to add the airbender’s sneaky steps to his repertoire of stealth. 

 

“Want to give up?” asked Aang rather hopefully. He had a tendency to get bored of things easily and they had been practicing this particular move for a week now; ever since Aang showed up with Monk Gyatso who had urgent business with Kuzon’s father, Kuse who was cultural advisor to the Fire Lord. 

 

Kuzon shook his head. He  _ would  _ get this. “You should know this by now. I  _ never _ give up. Let’s go again.”

 

Aang shrugged and started circling his friend again with those maddeningly light steps. Kuzon closed his eyes this time, trying to feel rather than see the movement. When he felt a gentle stroke of wind just behind him, he dropped on the ground and did a fast circular kick, breaking Aang's root. The airbender lost his balance, but recovered midair with a backflip, landing gracefully. 

 

“That was a good one, Kuzon,” Aang said good-naturedly. “You may become an honorary airbender one day. Do you want to go for a ride? Then we can steal some jelly cakes, like we did last year. It’s a pity Bumi is not here this time.” Without waiting for an answer, Aang walked towards the cliff.

 

Kuzon grinned, savouring his small victory. “Sure.” 

 

He wrapped his arms and legs around Aang. The airbender opened his glider and they took off. The glider soared and the boys laughed feeling the wind on their skin. 

 

“Do you want to see my new spin?” Aang yelled into the air.

 

“Bring it on,” Kuzon squealed in delight as the world span around them into a dizzying blur. 

  
  


**_102 AG, Fire Nation Palace_ **

 

_ The world around him was a blur, he felt light and free. Zuko looked up and saw Aang’s grinning face. Something was strange. The Avatar had no tattoos. _

 

_ “Am I dreaming? What happened to your tattoos?” Zuko muttered. Tattooless Aang just gave him a big toothy grin and continued gliding through the sky. Zuko held onto him as they flew over azure seas and smoking volcanos. Finally, they landed in the lush garden of a small wood-framed house with a traditional thatched roof. Zuko stepped closer to the fountain and splashed his face with the water streaming from the beaks and over the spread-out wings of a lizard-crane.  _

 

_ Tattooless-Aang pointed towards a small pavilion next to a koi fish pond. “It’s there.” _

 

_ The light of the setting sun filtered into the small structure and reflected off of the golden plate representing Agni. Zuko looked around. The place felt eerily familiar, even though he was certain that he had never been here before. His steps were purposeful as he walked towards a stone lantern and reached inside.  _

 

_ He pulled out a map, but before he could read it, the red ink flowed in a different pattern. The newly formed-characters spelled out a question with urgency: “Have you forgotten us?” _

 

Zuko jolted awake. He sat on the edge of the bed, feeling like he was supposed to be somewhere. Druk, who was sleeping curled up next to him as always, opened a sleepy eye. 

 

“Go back to sleep, Druk,” Zuko said to the dragon softly. Druk laid his scaly head against the young Fire Lord’s neck and flicked a warm tongue at his earlobe. 

 

“I’m fine,” Zuko ran his fingers under Druk’s chin.  _ Spirits, he was growing so fast.  _

 

His thoughts wandered back to the strange dream that had kept returning every night for the last week. It was always the same; he woke up with the overwhelming feeling of urgency. He needed to find the garden, the pavilion, the map. It was a key to something - something important. 

 

_ Have you forgotten us? _

 

Zuko opened the door of his chamber to find Ty Lee dressed in a Kyoshi warrior uniform standing guard outside. It was still strange to see his sister’s childhood friend in all green. She gave him her signature overly cheerful smile. “Troubled night again?”

 

“I just need some air,” Zuko muttered, hoping to evade her questioning. The Kyoshi warriors stepped up his security after the assassination attempt at the South Pole and kept a constant watch over him. Not trusting the royal guards, Suki called for reinforcements, and Ty Lee had returned to the Fire Nation with the last group, saying that she wanted to do her part to protect the Fire Lord. 

 

“Your aura is glowing orange. It’s rather strange for you,” she squinted at him.

 

Zuko rolled his eyes. He didn’t share Ty Lee’s belief in auras. “I’m going for a walk,” he said firmly.

 

“And I’m coming with you,” she nodded, falling in step with him. 

 

Zuko sighed. He was really not up for her little Ty Lee-chatter. He needed time and space to think about the dream. “Will it matter if I say I prefer to be alone?”

 

“Zuko, you know I can’t let you,” she gave him an apologetic smile and a small wink. “I’ll be quiet.”

 

 _As if._ In all the years Zuko had known her, Ty Lee never managed to keep quiet for any significant length of time. Zuko shrugged, resigned to his fate and started walking towards the garden.

 

The first question came before they reached the gate. “What troubles you?”

 

It was probably better to get it over with then put up with her clumsy questioning. Zuko stopped abruptly and turned to Ty Lee.  “What do you think of dreams?”

 

Her eyes went wide with excitement and she put her hand in front of her mouth. “I knew it. Is she someone I know?”

 

Zuko blushed furiously. It was good that the garden was only illuminated by the pale moonlight. “Not that kind of dream… Have you ever had a dream that keeps coming back and it’s so vivid that it feels real, even if it’s not?” 

 

Ty Lee leaned closer to him and whispered conspiratolly. “Can I tell you a secret? I sometimes see a strange, bright yellow flower in my dream. I’ve been seeing it since I was a kid. But whenever I try to reach out for it, it disappears in the fog. Is that what your dream is like?”

 

Zuko shook his head. “Not exactly. I’ve only started to have this dream the last couple of days. It feels like a message - like somewhere I have to be, except I don’t know where it is or why,” Zuko struggled putting the feeling into words and not sound like a crazy person.

 

Fortunately, Ty Lee was difficult to shock. She believed in all kinds of bizarre things: auras, fortune tellers, energy crystals, strange legends. “Maybe there is a clue in the dream itself.”

 

Zuko frowned. He’s been trying to recall the details of the dream, searching for clues, but there was nothing. “It’s just a regular house. With a regular garden. There are thousands and thousands like that in the Fire Nation.”

 

They stopped by the quiet pond. The turtle-ducks were all sleeping in their nest. Zuko sat on the grass watching the dark ripples on the water.

 

“Is there anyone in the dream - maybe a person who can lead you there?” Ty Lee knelt next to him.

 

“Only Aang,” shrugged Zuko. 

 

“Well, it does sound like Avatar-stuff.” Ty Lee noted cheerfully. “How exciting,” she chirped. Of course, she would say that; in her little Ty Lee-world, everything was bubbly and fun. Or at least she was the master of pretending it was.

 

Zuko sighed in frustration. “I can’t just message the Avatar every time I have a strange dream.”

 

Ty Lee gave a short laugh. “Sure you can. He’s not just the Avatar. Aang is your friend. That’s what friends are for. I’m certain he’d love to help.”

 

Zuko shook his head. He was not going to bother Aang with this. His friend already had way more on his plate than any kid ought to, figuring out world peace and balance. Zuko could solve this alone. Or maybe there wasn’t anything to solve and it was just a stupid dream. 

 

“Forget I said anything, Ty Lee. I’m sure the dream doesn’t mean anything.” 

 

“Or it could be an answer,” Ty Lee replied, her big gray eyes shining like silver pieces in the moonlight.

 

“An answer to what?” 

 

“To a question you can’t quite remember,” she muttered. “Or at least that’s what my Nana used to say.” 

 

Ty Lee’s family came from the far northern provinces of the Fire Nation. Remote places with rugged cliffs and barren rocks, where people still kept old tribal customs and believed in superstitions. 

 

Zuko stood up. This conversation was leading nowhere. He had to pull himself together and focus on the important stuff. His upcoming council meeting, the education reform, the situation with the colonies...the list of tasks was endless. He could not afford to worry about this.

 

“I’m going back to bed. I have to see Azula early in the morning before she leaves to meet the governors,” Zuko watched curiously Ty Lee’s reaction. When she returned, Zuko at first suspected that it had more to do with Azula than with him, but the two girls seemed to go out of their way to avoid each other as much as possible. Ty Lee was chewing her lips nervously at the mention of Azula. 

 

“She will need an escort.” Zuko added, hoping Ty Lee would volunteer. Azula needed a friend, someone she could confide in and Ty Lee was always the best person for that job. 

 

“I’m in charge of training tomorrow,” Ty Lee said quickly and looked away somewhat guiltily. 

 

He grimaced. “Is it your plan to avoid her forever?” 

 

“I don’t know, Zuko, it’s complicated,” she sighed heavily.

 

That much was true. The three girls always had a complex friendship, the unwritten rules of which had often left Zuko confused and bewildered even back in their good days. And those days were gone; Azula burnt every bridge before the comet. 

 

It occurred to him that he could simply just order Ty Lee to go with the princess, but he felt that it would be overstepping the complicated boundaries of their relationship. This was personal. 

 

“I get it, you don’t need to explain,” he gave her a reassuring smile. It was something for Ty Lee and Azula to sort out between themselves - they didn’t need him meddling. 

 

After saying goodnight to Ty Lee, Zuko closed the door of his room hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before dawn. While he was out, Druk somehow managed to spread himself diagonally across the enormous bed. Zuko curled up in a corner and listened to his dragon’s soft snores, as his mind sifted through every little detail of his dream, trying to find a clue.

  
  
  


-0-

  
  
  


**102 AG, Southern Air Temple**

 

_ Here I am, only a hundred years late, _ Aang thought as he placed his burden wrapped tightly in an orange robe gently on the ground. “This is how close I can get you to the sky. I’ve been avoiding coming home because it hurts too much. I miss you and I’m sorry for running away, for not being here when you needed me,” he said, tears running down his face. “I’ve done what I can, but the truth is, I don’t know if I can ever restore balance. How can there be balance without us? People celebrate me like I’m a hero, but I think I let the world down.”

 

“Also, I have no idea why I’m talking to you. You’ve probably gone through many cycles by now. You could be anyone - a starfish, a sea lion…” Momo’s electric green eyes flashed at him, “or a flying lemur,” Aang smiled. It was somehow comforting to think of all the living creatures around him as reincarnation of old friends. “Wherever you are, I hope they have been good lives, Gyatso.” 

 

He summoned a flame on his palm, looking at his mentor’s remains. It was nothing but an empty shell now, but still it felt like the right thing to give him the traditional send-off. Even a century late. Aang looked at the remains than back at the flame. He sighed and closed his palm, extinguishing the fire. “You probably had enough of fire.”

 

He changed his stance and sank the wrapped-up body into the ground, the earth claiming the last bits of his former master and the closest thing to a father he ever had. 

 

Aang hopped on Appa’s back, burying his tear-streaked face into his shaggy fur as they flew back to the temple. The building was just a mass grave now that Aang had sealed all the halls with his airbending; the remains of Air Nomads mixed with the decaying bones of their attackers. Aang couldn’t bear being inside the walls that hid such unspeakable horrors. He curled up against his oldest friend on the terrace and cried himself into an exhausted sleep. 

 

_ Aang ran through the fog. He heard their voices - whispering, pleading, crying, goading - but he couldn’t see them anywhere. _

 

_ “Aang, you have to find us. You promised to show us the air scooter again,” the familiar voices echoed through the empty walls and chambers. _

 

_ “I don’t know where you are,” Aang yelled in desperation. _

 

_ “We are right here,” the voices came from right above him.  _

 

_ Aang opened his glider and flew into the thick fog. He circled around until he lost his bearings. Everything around him was just like a thick white soup. He took a deep breath, puffed his cheeks, trying to blow it all away, but the fog resisted his bending.  _

 

_ “You will not find them here, Aang.” Gyatso’s familiar voice called to him. “You have to go to him. He knows the way.”  _

 

_ “Go to whom?” Aang yelled in frustration trying to work his way through the mist in the direction of the voice. The fog lifted suddenly and Aang realized someone was holding onto him.  As he glanced over his shoulder, Zuko’s familiar golden eyes stared at him in confusion.  _

 

_ “Am I dreaming? What happened to your tattoos?” _

 

Aang sat up and stared into the starry night. The same strange dream.  He arrived at the temple a week ago, all alone, trying to calm the restlessness he felt. As the world rejoiced the new era of peace, the Avatar - without the distraction of constantly being on the move, without the threat of imminent doom - felt keenly the weight of everything he lost. He had hoped that meditating in his childhood home would help him find an answer to all the pain that was tearing at his insides. But all he got was the dream of disembodied voices accusing him. He defeated Ozai, but apparently it wasn’t enough. The spirits had not forgiven him for abandoning the world for hundred years. He found no answers here, only unspeakable grief and a strange dream. It all seemed so futile. If Zuko had known anyone needing his help, he would have surely told Aang already.  Still, the dream seemed like a message.

 

Aang leaned against Appa and scratched his ear gently. The bison stirred and opened his big brown eyes, looking at the monk with endless empathy. “We need to visit Zuko, boy.” 

 

There was an unmistakable glimmer in Appa’s eyes at the mention of the Fire Lord as he signalled his agreement by licking Aang’s face enthusiastically. It had nothing to do of course with Zuko’s annoying habit of sneaking sweets to the bison, spoiling him rotten any time they visited the Fire Nation.

 

Having come to a decision made Aang feel better. Settling on Appa’s neck, with Momo perched on his shoulder, he pulled on the reins lightly. “Yip-Yip, Appa.”

  
  
  


**_Fire Nation Palace, Two days later_ **

  
  


Zuko kept his stance firm, paying extra attention to the footwork, as he tracked the movement of the dragon. Druk flew around him in a tight ring. Suddenly, he ducked under and swiftly changed direction, sending a strong fireball at Zuko, who barely had time to put up a fire-shield around himself. Zuko felt his flames flare up, as the bright dragonfire crashed into his defenses. Controlling his breath like Iroh had taught him, he kept the flames even until the dragon’s fire melded into his own. Zuko lowered his arms, extinguishing the shield.

 

“You almost got me this time, buddy,” Zuko patted the dragon’s head proudly. Druk’s firebending was coming along nicely. The dragon licked his burnt earlobe, making the damaged tissue almost come alive with a faint, tingling sensation.  Zuko wrapped his arms around the animal’s neck and tried to wrestle the wriggling creature to the ground. 

 

“I see. Some of us get to play around, while others have to do all the hard work,” a sharp voice interrupted their game. 

 

Zuko spun around to find Azula standing at the edge of the training ground with her arms crossed over her chest. Her formal red outfit and the small golden flame glistening in her impeccably tied topknot was a sharp contrast to Zuko’s body covered mostly in sweat, his unbound hair sticking messily to his head. 

 

In a red flash, Druk took off from his shoulder and darted towards Azula, greeting her with an enthusiastic nuzzle on the nose. Her lips curved into a hint of a smile before she schooled her features and swatted away the dragon with mock annoyance. “Not in the mood, Druk.”

 

Zuko ran a towel around his face and pulled his shirt on. He had noticed a while ago how Azula tensed up whenever she saw his lightning scar. Her bad mood already apparent, Zuko didn’t want to aggravate the situation any further. 

 

“How did it go with the governors?” 

 

“About as bad as we expected. They furiously oppose the financial plan,” she replied with a grimace. “Their short-sightedness is one thing. But it’s their disobedience that I find truly troubling.” 

 

Zuko listened to Azula’s report with a frown. The opposition grew stronger again in the provinces. Voices whispered of a weak Fire Lord who would betray his nation to please foreigners. The traitor prince whose claim to the throne was always shaky at best. The idiot kid who is nothing more than the Avatar’s puppet. 

 

“We could just throw them all in prison, you know,” Azula finished with an annoyed huff.

 

Zuko shook his head. “No. It’s not the way we do things anymore.” He could handle their insolence. After all, it wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before. He had plenty of practice in being disrespected, belittled and mocked. When he was pushed out into the world at 13, humiliated, banished, scarred, he learned to grow a thick skin over his scarred flesh. It was one of those useful lessons that Ozai probably never meant to teach him, but served him well nonetheless. 

 

“You don’t have to be a part of it if you are squeamish Zuko. But you can’t stop me from doing what I can to protect you,” she retorted.

 

Zuko bit his lips. On the one hand, it was great to have Azula on his side. She had excellent ideas and an incredible drive to make them happen. On the other hand, she had her own views on how things ought to be handled, which was often at odds with Zuko’s vision. “Azula, there has to be another way.” 

 

“And what way is that? Serve them tea and talk?” she asked sarcastically. 

 

“It could be a start,” Zuko snapped back. 

 

Azula’s hands curled into a fist. “They are traitors and a threat not only to you, but the unity of the country. Do I need to remind you that these islands were once dozens of fighting fiefdoms until the first Fire Lord united them with strength?” 

 

Zuko was not the least in the mood to hear about his glorious ancestors. As far as he was concerned, there were already plenty of megalomaniacs in the family tree; he was not planning on following in their footsteps. 

 

“I sat through the same history lessons you did Azula. I was fed the same propaganda. But the war is over now, and we have a chance to do things differently. People can learn new ways, better ways. I want to be their leader not their tyrant.”

 

“Maybe you should have paid more attention to those history lessons. The situation is fragile, Zuko. Like it or not, the Fire Lord is the glue that holds this country together. If they sense your weakness, things could fall apart very quickly. Do you want the Fire Nation to descend into civil war?” she asked bluntly.

 

Zuko was taken aback. “Of course not.”

 

“Then stop being so damn squeamish and let me do my job,” she retorted angrily. Zuko refrained from pointing out that her job consisted of explaining the financial plan to the governors. Nobody appointed her as chief of security, but old habits died hard apparently. 

 

The worst thing was that Azula was not wrong. The situation was precarious. Zuko had thought that people would be happy to be free of a monster like Ozai, and some of them were, but the truth was that many people were clinging onto the old ways. Zuko wanted to give them the gift of thinking for themselves, but they begrudged him for pushing them out of their comfort zone. They were too used to someone telling them what to do and what to think. They wanted to keep on basking in their delusions of being exceptional. 

 

No, Azula was not wrong, but it didn’t mean she was right. The Fire Nation had to change, they had to figure out a way to fit into the new balance, to rebuild the bridges they burned with a century of war.  

 

“Zuko, I’m sorry to bother you, but I thought you’d want to know that the Avatar just landed.” Ty Lee interrupted the argument, glancing nervously between them. She gave a small, half-formal bow to Azula, which the princess didn’t acknowledge with more than a confused frown on her face. 

 

“Aang is here?” Zuko asked with a mix of excitement and dread. It was always good to see his friend, but an unannounced visit by the Avatar in the Fire Nation capital could also be a sign of trouble. Or…”Did you message him behind my back?” he asked Ty Lee with annoyance.

 

Hurt flashed in her eyes at the accusation. “No, of course, not.”

 

Leaving the two girls to their awkward silence, Zuko hurried down the path connecting the training ground to the garden with Druk in tow. He found the Avatar easily in the bamboo grove close to the turtle-duck pond; it was Appa’s favourite spot in the shade. Seeing Zuko, Momo chirped with excitement. Before Druk could go after the lemur, Zuko held onto him and said strictly. “That’s not how we greet guests, Druk.” 

 

To emphasize his words with proper demonstration, he put his fist to his palm and dipped his head in a small bow. “Welcome, Avatar Aang. It’s always an honor to have you in the palace.”

 

It was kind of a game between them to do the formalities expected of their roles for the benefit of people who didn’t know how close they were with exceedingly exaggerated ways. Zuko liked to mention his honor, Aang usually came up with flowery responses, adorning his greeting with words that nobody used in a hundred years. 

 

The silence didn’t bode well. As Aang turned around slowly, Zuko’s heart squeezed in his chest with worry. There was no trace of the usual wide grin on the Avatar’s face. Dark circles drew a shadow around his big grey eyes, like he hadn’t slept in days. 

 

Zuko’s mind raced, trying to figure out what could have made him so upset. “What’s wrong? Is it the colonies? I told you I’ll figure something out, but I need a little time.”

 

“I’m not here about the colonies.” Aang said quietly, his voice flat. 

 

Zuko stepped closer, putting a hand on his shoulder. “What is it then?”

 

Aang looked at the ground, as if there was an answer written somewhere in the carefully arranged rocks, uncomfortably shuffling on his feet, visibly unable to decide where to start.  Zuko felt the urge to bark at him to stop fidgeting and just to spit it out, but he held his tongue. Uncle taught him that silence was often more effective than a thousand words. The Avatar bounced on his feet. Zuko waited. 

 

Finally, Aang raised his gaze, looking straight into his eyes. 

 

“Do you ever dream about me, Zuko?”

  
Zuko frowned. _ What in Agni’s name was going on? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for starting on a slightly somber tone, but I don't think Aang fully processed the loss of his people in the show (a lifetime is not enough to process something like that). Once events slow down a bit around him, I think the grief would catch up with him inevitably. 
> 
> I promise the rest of the fic will not be all doom and gloom.


	2. The Lizard-Crane

**_1 BG, Sunstone Island - 3 weeks before Sozin’s comet_ **

  
  


All the signs were there, even if he didn’t understand them at the time. Shreds of arguments filtering through the closed doors. Shadows of tears under Mother’s eyes. The way Father’s always smiling features froze into a haunted scowl. 

 

His mother’s kiss lingered on his forehead, even after she sailed off with Kuzon’s baby sister to her birthplace, far in the North. An eerie silence settled on the house, like the calm before the storm. 

 

They fell into a new rhythm. Kuzon meditated with Father at sunrise, before skipping off to school. There was excitement in the air as new recruits in shiny red uniforms marched through the town to the sound of drums and tsungi horns. It was a stirring sight, and Kuzon couldn’t wait to be old enough to be marching with them. 

 

When Kuzon mentioned this at home, his father didn’t smile. The lines on his face grew sharper as he stared into the distance, where the setting sun painted a golden path over the rolling waves. Kuzon shrugged - Father had been in a strange mood for days after all - and went to bed with a smile on his face, dreaming of red flags flapping proudly in the wind. 

 

He woke up to strong hands grabbing his shoulders. 

 

“Wake up, Son,” the urgency in his father’s voice filled Kuzon with an unspeakable dread.

 

“Dad? What’s going on?” he muttered, blinking half-awake.

 

“Son, listen to me carefully,” his father whispered, thrusting a scroll and a heavy bag of coins into his hand. “They are coming for us. You need to hide now, somewhere where they cannot find you. And once they are gone, you need to get out of here. Take a ship to Kyoshi Island and from there, get a ride to the Southern Air Temple. Don’t tell anyone who you are. You have to find Gyatso and tell him that it’s happening now.” 

 

Kuzon’s eyes opened wide, trying to see his father’s face in the darkness, to seek reassurance that it was just a bad dream and the dawn will come. “Dad? Who is coming? What’s happening?” 

 

As his father hugged him closer. 

 

“Kuzon, remember, I love you more than anything in the world, but sometimes things happen that are bigger than us. Your mission is important. Promise me that whatever happens here tonight, you will stay hidden and do what I told you. The fate of the world hangs in the balance, and this is your destiny.”

 

“I’m scared, Father,” Kuzon tried in vain to control the trembling of his voice. 

 

“Me too, Son. The world is about to change for the worse, I’m afraid that our nation is heading down a very dark path. But you must try to always remember who you are.”

 

“I don’t understand.”  _ What did this mean? Why did Father sound like he was saying good-bye? _

 

“There is no fire without air. We can’t destroy it without destroying ourselves. Now hide, and don’t come out, no matter what happens,” he gave the boy’s shoulder a last squeeze. “Promise me.”

 

“I won’t let you down, Father,” Kuzon promised solemnly. He turned back as he reached the door, for one final bow, and ran into the darkness. 

 

“I know that you won’t,” his father’s voice followed him like a gentle breeze. “May Agni watch over you.”

 

Kuzon hurried towards the sharp cliffs overhanging the bay. It was the best hiding spot on the island. He laid flat in the hollow of a rock and waited, listening to the music of fire-crickets. Soon, the silence of the night was shattered by hard boots squeaking against the gravel and the harsh sound of banging on the door. 

 

“Counsellor Kuse. You are wanted for treason,” a rough voice shouted. 

 

Kuzon gasped.  _ It was not true. It couldn’t be. Father was part of the Fire Lord’s inner circle. He loved his country. There was a mistake. _ He craned his neck trying to see what was happening, but the house was too far from his hiding spot. Suddenly, there was a flash, and bright flames engulfed their home. He could make out the silhouette of the soldiers against the blaze; horned helmets bobbing like puppets in a grotesque shadow theater.

 

 Even with his hands tight against his ears, he could hear screams of pain.  _ It could be anyone _ .   _ Father. The old servant, Kibo. Lo, the gardener. They were all inside.  _ Kuzon ducked behind the rocks, shaking with anger and fear.

 

“Have you found the boy?” one of the voices shouted.

 

“He must have burnt with the others,” another replied. “And even if not, he’s just one kid. What can he possibly do?”

 

“Yeah, you’re right,” the first voice agreed. “Let’s go.”

 

Kuzon waited until the footsteps died down. After crawling out of his hiding place, he ran down the path. When he got to the fork, he hesitated. Maybe he should go back to the house and check for survivors. But he made a promise to Father; honor required him to obey. With a heavy heart, he trotted down to the docks. 

 

An old fisherman fixing his nets was the only person around. 

 

Kuzon greeted him and took out a handful of golden coins. “Can you take me to Kyoshi Island?”

 

The fisherman seized him up, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

 

“A mean storm is coming, boy. I was not planning to set sail.”

 

“Please, I have to go,” Kuzon pulled out more coins.

 

The old man looked towards the smoke still swirling from the house and back at Kuzon. “I’ll do it. What’s your name, boy?”

 

“Li,” His voice came out as a croak. 

“Welcome on board of the Drunken Sea Raven, Li,” the man grinned, as he buried the coins in his pockets.

 

Kuzon stepped onto the deck of the flimsy fishing boat as the first rays of Agni appeared on the horizon. It was inconceivable that after a night of horrors the sun would rise again. But it did.

  
  


-0-

 

**Fire Nation Palace, 102 AG**

 

“Do you ever dream about me Zuko?” 

 

Zuko frowned. He thought he had seen everything weird when it came to Aang, but there was always a new level of eerie when it came to the Avatar. 

 

“I...oh... Whaaat?” He stuttered. He never had Azula’s ability to come up with witty retorts, so he often ended up flustered. “Why?” He added to gain time. He didn’t know how to even begin to explain his dream without feeling like a fool. 

 

“Well, do you?” Aang’s eyebrows shot up to his arrowed forehead. “Because I’ve been having this dream that we are flying together,” he added.

 

Zuko gasped. Was it possible that Aang had the same dream as him? It was spooky, but in a way also a strange relief.  Whatever madness this was, at least they were in it together, just like they had promised each other on the day of the coronation that they would be - the Avatar and the Fire Lord, supporting each other every step of the way. Though the promise did not include anything about dreams.

 

“Yes, I think I have that dream too,” he admitted.

 

Aang’s eyes gleamed with eagerness.  “And in your dream, do you know where we are going?”

 

Zuko shook his head. “It’s a house with a thatched-roof, there is nothing special about it. It could be anywhere in the Fire Nation.”

 

“Are you sure it’s in the Fire Nation?”

 

Zuko nodded. Of that he was sure. “There is a pavilion in the garden with an Agni-shrine. And inside the shrine there is stone urn with a map.”  

 

“And do you know where the map points?” Aang jumped up excitedly, which meant he was half-way to the treetops. 

Zuko waited until he floated back to the ground again, trying to recall the details of the dream. “When I try to look at it, it’s a message:  _ Have you forgotten us? _ But I have no idea who  _ they _ are supposed to be, Aang.”

 

Aang nodded. “It’s going to sound a little weird, but I think you are having the second part of my dream.”

 

Zuko grimaced. “Little weird is when you bend air-scooters for do races during breaks at peace conferences. This is flat out crazy.”

 

“There’s nothing weird about air scooters, you are just sour because you lost to Sokka last time,” Aang shot back with a quick grin.

 

“How many times do I have to tell you? His air-scooter was faster,” Zuko exclaimed angrily. He prided himself for learning to balance on those stupid things, so losing to Sokka was an embarrassing incident.

 

Aang, like the true airbender he was, evaded the accusations of foul play and swerved back to the issue of the dream. “In any case, in my dream, I’m at the Southern Air Temple, looking for my friends. These other kids I used to play with. I can hear their voices, but I can’t find them in the fog. Then Gyatso appears and tells me that I have to come to you.”

 

Whenever Aang mentioned the air temples, Zuko got a weird squeezing pain in his stomach. His mind supplied immediately the gruesome pictures of destruction that he had tried in vain to unsee ever since he set foot in the temples as a 13-year-old kid. It wasn’t fair. What happened to the Air Nomads happened long time before he was even born. So why did he feel so responsible for it? 

 

It was a terrifying thought that he was related to the madman whose feverish dreams unleashed on the world violence and bloodshed of unprecedented scale. But Sozin couldn’t have done it alone. He had a country marching with him to the tune of battle songs. The same country Zuko was supposed to lead into a new era of peace and kindness. When he looked at it this way, it was a rather unsettling thought.

 

“Aang, you have been out there alone. It must have been horrible - I’m so sorry. I told you that I can send people there with you to...” Zuko bit his tongue, looking for the right euphemism for a genocide, except there were none, “...to help. You don’t have to do this alone.”

 

Aang shook off his concern. “That would explain my dream, but not yours. I think the spirits are trying to tell us something.”

 

“But what?” Zuko was never a really spiritual person. He took Uncle’s word on the Spirit World, but he never wished to experience it. The stories Aang told him made the spirits look mean and petty - not unlike palace life. 

 

“Don’t you see? What if not everyone died? What if some of them escaped and are hiding somewhere?” Aang asked. 

 

Zuko’s heart sank. He didn’t want to do this. He knew exactly what it was like holding onto thin threads of hope. He also knew what it felt like losing those threads. There was no winning choice here - keep alive Aang’s delusion or kill the hope and watch the light die in his eyes. Zuko was a firebender; he went for the fast kill.

 

“Aang, Don’t you think I thought about that? I had the royal archivists tear apart the secret archives looking for something, anything.There is no trace of any lost airbenders. And wouldn’t they have come out of hiding by now if they were out there? It’s been two years since the war ended.”

 

Aang dug his heels in. “What if they don’t remember who they are? I think the spirits are giving us a key. The solution is inside us.”

 

This didn’t sound like the most efficient way of communicating. “Why don’t the spirits just give  _ you _ the entire map? After all, you are the bridge between the spirit world and us. And why me?”

 

“You are Roku’s great-grandson,” Aang guessed.  

 

“So?” Roku must have had a ton of other descendants. Azula for starters. Couldn’t one of the others get vague clues in their dreams? Zuko’s plate was already full with being Fire Lord.

 

“Look, whatever is the reason, I think we need to follow the clues and see where they lead us.” Aang said firmly. 

 

_ Even then. _

 

“And how do you propose to that? We check every thatched-roof house with an Agni-shrine?” Zuko raised an eyebrow. “There must be thousands and thousands of them.”

 

Aang considered this. “Are you sure there is nothing else? No other detail in your dream?”

 

Zuko closed his eyes in concentration, retracing his steps to the garden, the shrine.. _ the fountain _ … _ there was something about the fountain _ .

 

“There is a fountain out front with a lizard-crane sculpture, which stood out.” Lizard-cranes were not native to the Fire Nation and the animal was not really a common decorative piece like a dragon or a phoenix. 

 

Aang’s big grey eyes grew even rounder. “A lizard-crane?” he exclaimed,  “I know exactly where that house is.” He grabbed his friend’s wrist and started to pull him towards Appa. “Come, Zuko.”

 

“Now? Where?” Zuko exclaimed. 

 

“Sunstone island.”

 

“I can’t just leave the palace like that.” Though some days he really wished he could.

 

“They’ll be fine without you for a day. Let’s just try it please,” Aang’s voice was now pleading. 

 

Zuko hesitated. It was a crazy idea. He had a meeting with the ministers and a lunch with the ambassadors. A bunch of reasons not to go.  S _ till how could he turn down Aang, when he looked so lost?  _ He just came back from the ruins of his childhood home. Zuko shuddered. The dead bodies piled up in the Southern Air Temple were etched in his mind.

 

“If I’m wrong, I’ll let it go. I promise,” Aang added quietly. 

 

Zuko nodded. “Fine. Let me just talk to Azula.”

 

As expected, Azula was not thrilled.  She pointed out that it was impulsive, irresponsible and irrational to leave on the Avatar’s whim. When she ran out of i-words, she added that it was likely a waste of time.  

 

Zuko appealed to her sense of duty and when that only earned a grimace he went on all-out offensive with flattery, pointing out that she was more than capable of dealing with the ministers alone. That earned a smirk at least. They were getting somewhere.

 

“Will you take some guards?” she asked. “There could be assassins out there.”

 

Zuko did not want the royal retinue. He hardly ever had the chance to travel light these days. “Nonsense. I’m going with the Avatar, master of four elements. I think I’ll be safe.”

 

“Who is a pacifist.” 

 

Azula always found the weakest part of any plan without a fail. It was her best and worst quality.

 

“I’ll take my swords.”

 

Azula gave him another unamused look -  _  so much like Mother -  _ but didn’t say anything else. 

 

With Fire Lord business successfully delegated for the day, Zuko sprawled out happily in Appa’s saddle with Druk curled around his neck. Watching the clouds above, he realized how much he missed this; the intoxicating freedom of being out on the road with a friend, far away from the palace, the guards, the politics, the formality. 

 

He needed this trip just as badly as Aang to clear his head.

  
  
  
  


 -0-

  
  


The contours of the lush, green island emerged from the mist. Aang felt a pang of longing and pain every time he revisited a place from the past. Time was strange. To him it felt like yesterday that he tried to teach Kuzon how to stand on an air scooter, but his friend was long gone. 

 

Maybe he had family still living in the old house. His children and grandchildren could still be alive. It could be nice to get to know them, maybe trade stories. Stories and memories were all Aang had left of his childhood.

 

“The house should be just over those cliffs,” Aang turned back in the saddle. “You will love the pond, I think it even has gold-feathered turtle-ducks,” he never failed to poke fun at Zuko’s turtle-duck obsession, which he found strangely adorable.

 

“Tell me you didn’t make me skip the meeting with my ministers to look at turtle-ducks,” Zuko gave him a scowl.

 

“Gold-feathered turtle-ducks,” Aang corrected him with a smile. Zuko’s scowls and glares had stopped intimidating him a long time ago, right around the time they spent a night being stuck to the ceiling together, contemplating their place in the universe. It was a unique, but strangely effective bonding experience. The universe was telling them something and it was not subtle.  “It’s not like I twisted your arms…” Aang added with a wink. 

 

“Which is good, because that would be high treason punishable by death,” Zuko deadpanned. He scratched his head, “Which reminds me that we need to revise the penal code…”

 

Aang sighed. There was literally no conversation that didn’t prompt Zuko to add something to his never-ending list of to-dos. Which is why he was working himself to the ground. 

 

“Stop, Zuko. Do you ever stop working and just relax? Smell the flowers and soak in the magnificent sights? The violet-roses should be in bloom and the garden becomes this purple shade. Kuzon and I…”

 

“Aang…” Zuko interrupted his memory with a strange expression. 

 

“What’s wrong?” Aang asked alarmed. 

 

“Look!”

 

As Aang turned around, he was greeted not by a lush garden, but a deep black scar of ash and destruction. The wings of the fountain’s lizard-crane were broken, overgrown with moss. The blackened beams of the house looked like a grotesque skeleton. 

 

“What happened here?” There was so much destruction. 

 

_ I needed you, Aang. We all needed you. Where were you?  _ A familiar voice whispered in his mind.  _ Why wouldn’t they leave him alone? _

 

Zuko stared at the ash with a grim expression. “I’m sorry, Aang. There is nothing left here. ”

 

“We should check the garden anyways. You said there was a shrine.” He had to be sure. 

 

They headed towards the general area where once a garden bloomed, but now was mostly covered with thick undergrowth. Aang tried to airbend their way through the vines, but the plants resisted the wind. Finally, Zuko pulled out his swords and started whacking a path in the direction Aang pointed to. They worked removing the green leaves, until the old frame of the pavilion appeared.

 

Zuko knelt by the Agni shrine. “This is it.” He thrust his arms in the bushes, feeling around blindly… “I think I found it.”

 

He pulled out an old, dusty scroll-case and handed it to Aang.  _ This had to be it. The map to the voices.  _ Heart drumming, Aang broke the case and pulled out a scroll. He stared at the single line etched in the middle of the paper.

 

_ Follow the song of the wind _ . 

 

His heart sank. “I don’t know what this means,” He threw the scroll on the floor dejectedly. Zuko was right. This was absolutely useless.

 

Zuko picked up the discarded paper, turning it around a few times. “I have an idea.” 

 

He took a deep breath and held the paper flat against his palm. 

 

“Don’t burn it,” Aang tried to snatch it.

 

“I’m not,” Zuko growled, holding in tight. His eyes were closed in concentration. 

 

Aang realized that he applied only gentle heat. It was the same move Iroh used when he warmed a cup of tea in the Jasmine Dragon. Aang’s own training of firebending focused on cramming in as many fight moves as possible into the short weeks before the comet. There was still so much he didn’t know.

 

The paper started to glow in Zuko’s hand, and red contours appeared on the page.

 

“Invisible ink,” Zuko explained, peering at the lines. “It’s a firebender thing.”

 

“What is it?” 

 

Zuko squinted at it. “Looks like Shark-Squid Bone isle. See the shape?”

 

“You can tell which island just from that?” Aang asked skeptically.

 

“Well, I did spend three years of my life studying navigational maps,” Zuko glared at him pointedly like it was Aang’s fault that Ozai was a terrible dad or that he was stuck in an iceberg.

 

“Riiight,” he agreed sheepishly. “So we should go to Shark-Squid Bone isle then.”

 

“I agreed to this one trip, not more.”

 

“Zuko, we are onto something here. It could be our chance.”

 

Zuko sighed and put his hand on Aang’s shoulders. That usually meant serious business.  “What are you expecting to find at the end of this, Aang?”

 

_ My people _ . The words were on his lips, but they died down. He was the Avatar. He belonged to the whole world. They were all supposed to be his people. He had to try to explain this in a way Zuko would understand.

 

“We have to see this through to the end. You taught me that,” Aang said simply.

 

There was a beat of silence. Zuko nodded finally. “Fine. Let me send a hawk.”

 

 

-0-

 

Azula stared at the two letters in front of her. 

 

The first one, written in her brother’s elegant strokes informed her that they found a clue with Aang and would track it down. Iroh would arrive to help out.  _ Zuko still didn’t trust her to run things while he was gone,  _ the realization hit her, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. 

 

Zuko also asked her to look into a house burnt down a century ago on some Agni-foresaken little island.  _ Right. Her Dum-Dum brother never knew how to get his priorities straight. _ Chasing dreams with the Avatar could not be more important than running a country, leaving her to do the heavy lifting alone. 

 

She opened the second letter, trying to make out the messy scribbles. 

 

_ Princess Azula, _

 

_ I made some enquiries about the mysterious red tile, but every trail went cold (and not because we are on the South Pole) - get the joke?  Because it’s freezing here? I hope you will have more luck on your end. Until then, keep Zuko safe - we never know when the assassins may pop up.  _

 

_ Our library is coming along nicely. Do you think you could send another batch of books? Maybe a murder mystery? It could provide inspiration with the current investigation.  _

 

_ Until the next time, _

 

_ Sokka _

 

Azula frowned. This was not what she had hoped for. It looked like they hit a stone-wall in every direction. Zuko was still in danger, and he was out island-hopping with the Avatar. There was one thing left to try, and she had to do it fast, before Iroh showed up with his teapot and pai sho table and drowned her in proverbs. 

 

She pulled on a long cape, hiding her face under the hood. Using a secret passageway of the palace, she crossed the main square and climbed the short hill leading to a desolate tower. The night guard was about to ask her questions, but with a stern look she silenced the man. What she came for was all the way to the top. 

 

The moonlight filtered through the bars of the cell, illuminating the man huddled on the floor; his unkempt long hair covering his face. As the door clicked closed, he slowly lifted his head. The eyes that once burned like embers, looked dull and lifeless. Azula shuddered inside.  _ Would this be her destiny too?  _

 

She straightened her shoulders and schooled her features into an unreadable mask. He taught her that. 

 

“Hello, Father.” Her voice didn’t tremble. She only had to dig her nails into her palm to focus. 

 

His lips slowly curved into a calculating smirk. The board was set; both players made their opening moves.  

  
  



	3. Two Storms and a Jelly Cake

 

**Near Kyoshi Island - 1 BG, Days before the comet**

 

The storm came unannounced, or maybe Kuzon just missed the signs the old fisherman kept babbling about. One minute, the sky was clear blue, the next it darkened the world in ash gray. The gentle swaying of the boat turned into violent rolling on top of the towering waves. 

 

“Hold on tight, laddie,” Chong yelled gripping the wheel tightly, and something else that Kuzon could not hear over the roar of thunder and the crash of waves against the wooden hull. The boat lurched violently, releasing the boom which sent Kuzon flying over the deck. 

 

An icy wave engulfed him immediately, filling his lungs with cold, salty water, dragging him down towards the bottom. He kicked his feet, trying to get to the surface, trying to cry for help, but the Drunken Sea Raven was already lurched in the other direction by the raging sea. There was no hope of reaching it.  

 

 _It couldn’t end this way. He couldn’t die. Not now when he was so close._ _He promised Father. It was important. It had to be._ Kuzon kicked himself again to the surface, looking for something, anything to hold onto. A large wooden crate bobbed up next to him, like an answer to a prayer he never said. Kuzon silently thanked the Ocean Spirit and gripped the lid of the crate. Using the sash of his robe, he tied his wrists to the wood, hoping that it will be enough to ride out the storm.

 

The ashen sky was split in half by a white-blue flash of lightning, and Kuzon saw for a split-moment the silhouette of a sky-bison illuminated against the sky. It was the last thing he saw before he passed out. 

 

He woke up to something sharp poking his ribs. 

 

“I don’t think he’s alive, Chimi,” the voice of a young boy said.

 

“He could be dangerous,” another chimed in. 

 

“Maybe we should take him to the temple.”

 

“I don’t know. You heard what Ngapo said about strangers.”

 

Three bald heads came into his vision as Kuzon slowly opened his eyes. The boys jumped back frightened. 

 

“I think he’s alive, Zam.” The boys looked like they were ready to bolt. 

 

Kuzon rolled to his side, trying to cough out the water that felt like soaked into his mouth, his lungs, his nostrils, filling everything with stinging-salty taste. 

 

“Please,” he croaked weakly. “I need to speak with Gyatso.”

  
  


**102 AG - Somewhere in the Fire Nation**

 

Zuko tried to hide his shuddering as the lightning illuminated the cave, just a few moments before the thunder roared. The scar on his chest started to tingle with the ghost of electric bites, sharp and burning. He wondered if Aang felt the same pain, but there was not really a good way to start that conversation. _ Hey, remember that time my sister almost killed you? _ didn’t quite cut it. 

 

Aang leaned against the wall of the cave with Momo curled up in his lap. “Yay, camping in caves. Just like old times,” he noted without enthusiasm, bouncing an airball between his knuckles. 

 

He had been dictating a relentless pace the whole day, trying to get to Shark-Squid Bone Isle, convinced that some important piece of new information would await them. Zuko tried to caution Aang against getting his hopes up too much, but he couldn’t help feeling curious himself. After all, their dreams led them here.

 

“We’ll just have to wait until the storm passes by and we can push on.” Zuko glanced towards the opening of the cave. The storm, as if trying to contradict him, raged on without any sign of stopping. In fact, from the frequency of lightning strikes, it seemed like it was coming closer. The white-blue flash illuminated Druk’s outline as he stood with wings spread wide in excitement, as if he was trying to soak up the energy of the tempest. Zuko smiled at the dragon, remembering the day he was born. At least  _ he _ didn’t have bad memories of lightning.  

 

“Or we could have stayed in the mayor’s house for the night, like he offered,” grumbled Aang, switching to bouncing a rock against cave in maddening monotony. Being master of four elements apparently meant being able fidget in four times as many annoying ways. 

 

Zuko sighed.  _ Right.  _ When they did a quick food-stop in Taeju, the news of their presence spread through the village like wildfire. Even if they were in plain travelling clothes, between the arrow-tattoos, the scar, the flying bison and the dragon, there was no hope of maintaining incognito. The mayor rushed to greet them throwing himself on the ground in full kow-tow (didn’t he know that Zuko abolished the practice?), offering his humble home to the Fire Lord and the Avatar. Zuko politely declined and pointed out that they only stopped to pick up some mango and rice. The mayor insisted giving them a huge satchel filled with food as if somehow their powerful titles meant that they could eat many times more than mere mortals. No, Zuko had no desire to spend the night in stifling formality, dodging attempts of local nobility to  _ pay their respects _ , which in his experience was just another word for  _ currying favour _ .

 

He took a deep breath, the damp, musty smell of the cave filling his nostrils. “This is nicer.” 

 

Aang’s eyebrows shot all the way to his blue arrows. “What? You mean this cold, wet cave?” 

 

_ Wait was that sarcasm? Did Aang just do sarcasm?  _ Zuko made a mental note to report the development back to Sokka.

 

“It’s nice to be away from everything,” he explained. It rarely ever happened that he was without guards or servants. Sometimes a wet, cold cave was exactly what freedom felt like. “I’ll check in the back for some dry wood. We could make a fire.” 

 

Zuko lit a small flame on his palm and headed towards the dark bowels of the cave. Aang scooted closer to the entrance and switched to bending the raindrops into long, thin water-snakes. He was certainly in a mood.

 

“I don’t like storms,” Aang sighed. There was something in his voice that made Zuko turn back. The boy was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chin looking at him with big, wet, silver eyes like he was supposed to do something.

 

Zuko knelt next to him. “What’s going on, Aang?”

 

“Have I ever told you how I ended up frozen in the ice?” Aang’s voice cracked a little. 

 

Zuko shook his head. No,  _ Aang _ never told him that. Katara did tell some of it, under strict oath of never mentioning it to Aang that he knew. 

 

Aang chewed on his lips nervously as he started the story. It spilled out of him in bitter words of shame and self-recrimination. “I ran away. They told me that I was the Avatar and... I ran away. And I almost died in a stupid storm, which probably would have been better because then at least I could have reincarnated as someone braver - but instead I was frozen. And somehow slept through all...and now they are all gone...”

 

Zuko couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would feel like to have your entire world vanish in a blink, but the anguish in Aang’s voice was achingly familiar. There were many what-ifs that haunted Zuko too. He fervently wished that Katara was here. She always knew what to say in situations like this. Zuko settled for putting his hands awkwardly on Aang’s shoulder.

 

“It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known what was about to happen.”

 

The words sounded hollow as they left his mouth.

 

“I should have stayed with them... I wish I could fix this.” The tears started streaming down Aang’s face.

 

“You did fix it. You stopped the war, Aang. And you will restore balance and I will help you.” Zuko still believed it, even if it was so much more complicated than he had ever imagined the day he marched into the Western Air Temple offering to join the Avatar. The war was won, but it only meant that the fighting ended. Which was not the same as peace.

 

“It doesn’t feel like it,” Aang whispered dejectedly.

 

Zuko searched desperately his mind for a fitting proverb, anything that would work in this situation. 

 

“You never know how things will work out, but we will keep trying. It’s like a leap of faith.” That sounded about right, something like Uncle would say. 

 

Aang finally looked up and nodded his agreement, eyes serious. Zuko let out a sigh of relief. By some miracle this worked and the rain was also slowing down. They would both feel better back on the road. He untied the food satchel.

 

Suddenly, Aang’s eyes darted somewhere behind his shoulder as he yelled, “Jump!”

 

“Whaaat?!?” Zuko asked confused.

 

“Zuko, now!” Aang shoved him towards the mouth of the cave. 

 

Zuko glanced over the edge of the cliff. It was a long way down - the bottom of the ravine invisible in the fog. But the urgency in Aang’s voice made him let go and hurl himself into the ravine. On some days, this was what trust felt like - being in complete freefall with the absolute certainty that he would land softly. When the ground came closer, the familiar invisible cushion slowed his fall, like on that day in Pohuai fortress that changed his life forever. 

 

“What was that about?” he asked Aang, looking back up towards the cave. “Assassins?”

 

“There was a family of saber-tooth moose-lions in the cave,” Aang explained seriously. “The mama lion was about to attack us.”

 

Zuko scoffed in disbelief. “What? You are telling me that we are the Avatar and the Fire Lord and we can’t take on a couple of big cats?”

 

“The cubs were so small and fragile - I was afraid they’d get hurt in a fight,” Aang explained spinning his glider around to shake off the rain. Most of the droplets landed on Zuko’s face. 

 

“So the logical solution was to ask me to jump from a cliff?” Zuko shook the water out of his hair.

 

“Not a jump, a leap of faith, Zuko,” Aang’s eyes glimmered innocently. Zuko had the distinct feeling of being mocked. 

 

“Sokka is rubbing off on you and not in good ways,” he grumbled.

 

“You are right. This is way more fun than the mayor’s house.” Aang held out his open palms.  “Look, the rain stopped. Let’s get on our way.”

 

-0-

  
  


_ “Now, go-go quickly,” Kuzon whispered. _

__

_ Aang dove through the narrow window of the kitchen, where the sweet, fluffy jelly cakes were lined up next to the oven. The aroma was otherworldly.  _

 

_ “Do you see them?” _

 

_ “Oh yes.” Aang licked his lips in anticipation. “They look delicious. Pass me the basket, Kuzon.”  _

 

_ “Eeeeek!”  _

__

The cakes all seem to be swallowed by an endless dark pit as Aang woke up to a blood-curdling shriek.

 

“Zuko, Druk is chasing Momo again,” he muttered sleepily, eager to go back into the dream, to feel the fluffy sweets that were so tantalizingly close to his tongue.

 

The lemur, hearing his name rushed over to Aang and hid behind his back. Druk sent a hissing flame in his direction, which Aang blocked half-asleep before the tent could catch fire. 

 

“Stop it, Druk,” Aang scolded the dragon. He sat up and glanced over to Zuko’s empty sleep-roll. “Where is Zuko?”

 

The dragon blinked his yellow scaly eyes and launched into an agitated dance, that was clearly meant to be an explanation. Aang followed him out to the clearing.  Zuko was nowhere to be seen and Appa was gone too. Aang’s chest tightened with sudden panic. 

 

“Appaaaaaaa! Zukoooooo!” he shouted, but other than a faint echo of his own hollers, there was no reply. Something must have happened to them. Aang ran back to his tent to grab his glider, when a familiar thump shook the ground outside, the telltale sign of Appa landing. 

 

“Zuko!” Aang greeted them with relief. “You gave me a fright. Where did you go?”

 

“I thought I’d get us some breakfast, considering we left all our mangoes and rice for the saber-tooth moose-lion family. Not that they’d appreciate it,” Zuko said with a pointed look. Oh, he was still mad about  _ that _ . “I thought I’d be back before you wake up.”

 

“Druk was chasing Momo again.” Aang felt vaguely guilty about ratting out the dragon, but it was a good strategy to prevent another argument about the moose-lions. Zuko already spent the rest of the previous day grumbling about it. 

 

“Oh, you promised me you’d behave,” Zuko gave the dragon a disappointed look. Druk squirmed uncomfortably, trying to give long innocent blinks, but Zuko was not buying it. “You ruined the surprise.”

 

“Surprise. What surprise?” Aang perked up immediately. 

 

Zuko pulled out a large box, tied with a red ribbon. There was an awkward smile on his face like he wasn’t completely sure about what he was doing. “Happy birthday, Aang.” 

 

Aang gasped. In the chaos of the morning he had completely forgotten. But Zuko  _ remembered _ . Wait…  _ That was strange. _

 

“How did you know it’s my birthday?” Delighted surprise was mixed with an unsettling feeling as a previously formless suspicion started to take shape in his head.  

 

Zuko’s smile faded as he looked away guiltily. “The date of Roku’s death is public record, Aang. I learnt it in school.”

 

 _Oh, right._ _Those_ history lessons. Probably there was even a macabre festival to celebrate his death where they crisped Avatar-shaped fire flakes before skewering them on long sticks.  Seeing Zuko nervously bouncing on his feet, Aang reminded himself that even if those festivals existed, his friend didn’t have anything to do with them. If anything, he was probably trying to outlaw them like he had done with “Victory”-day. 

 

Being gracious about gifts was good manners and Zuko just got into a lot of trouble getting him something. It was useless to get himself riled up about maybe-existing-anti-Avatar festivals. Aang untied the ribbon with slightly shaking hands. The sugary-sweet scent curled into his nose before he even saw it. It looked achingly familiar, exactly like in his dream. 

 

“You got me a jelly cake?” his voice sounded muffled as he tried to swallow the tears welling in his throat.  

 

“You don’t like it?” Zuko asked anxiously.

 

“I love it. Gyatso used to bake these all the time.”

 

“Then what’s the matter?” Zuko’s good eye-brow creased in confusion. 

 

_ It couldn’t be a coincidence, right? Not when he was just dreaming about them. Maybe they shared a dream again? Was this another clue in their search? _

 

“Nothing is the matter. I just think it might be significant to this whole trip we are on. So did you dream it?” Aang blurted out.

 

“Did I dream about you and jelly cakes, Aang?” Zuko’s baffled frown deepened as he repeated the question. “No, I didn’t.”

 

“But then how did you know?” Aang wondered.  _ There had to be an explanation. _

 

Zuko gave an exasperated shrug. “I don’t know. I mean who doesn’t like jelly cakes? Your sweet tooth is not exactly a secret.”

 

“Yeah. But sweet tooth could be a million things. It could be candied papayas, coconut tart or star fruit mousse…” argued Aang. Surely, Zuko had to see too that the jelly cake was a sign. It meant that they were on the right track. 

 

“Wait. You would have preferred star fruit mousse instead? Because I can go back to the cake shop, I’m sure being Fire Lord and all I can make that...” Zuko rambled on. 

 

_ OK, maybe he was not seeing it. _ Aang interrupted him with a chuckle. 

 

“Zuko. The jelly cake is perfect! Thank you. Haven’t had anything like this in a 100 years.”

 

Zuko nodded with visible relief and unfolded the box.

“You are welcome. I couldn’t decide whether to get 14 or 114 candles… so instead I got this.”

 

He pierced a single stick into the gooey center of the cake, and lit it with his fingertips. The stick made a sizzling sound and sent colourful sparks into the air. Momo ducked behind Appa in his fright, while Druk flicked his tongue around trying to catch the shiny flying specks. 

 

The fluffy jelly melted into Aang’s mouth like the sweetest memory. He couldn’t wait to get to Shark-Squid Bone Isle.

 

**Fire Nation Palace, 102 AG**

 

The rain pattered against the roof of the eastern tower of the palace. It used to be Azula’s favourite hiding place, back when she would sneak up here to watch her father train in the court-yard, admiring the power of his moves, the ease with which he made blue lines crackle at his fingertips. Back in those days when the blue flashes filled her with pride and determination that one day she would master them like no one had ever before.

 

How things have changed. Now, every time the room flared with the electric white-blue, all she could see was Zuko falling in slow motion; eyes closed, his features distorted in pain. All she could remember was that one violent flash he sent to the sky like a desperate scream as he hit the ground convulsing, fighting for his life. Maybe one day she would ask him if he was meaning to kill her then. Or maybe it was better not to know for sure. 

 

“Azula. Your uncle has arrived.” 

 

She turned around to find Ty Lee dressed in full Kyoshi uniform in the doorway. Azula hated the thick mask of paint on her former friend’s face; it made it that much harder to read her thoughts. That’s why it made such an excellent disguise; back in those glorious days when the three of them waltzed into Ba Sing Se and conquered it in a stroke of genius, without a drop of blood. The lightning flashed again as if to say;  _ we all know that’s a lie. _ Azula winced, thinking of another falling boy. Well, maybe not _ totally _ without a drop of blood.

 

“How did you find me?” 

 

“You always used to hide here as a kid when you were upset,” Ty Lee replied evenly, holding Azula’s gaze.  

 

“What makes you think I’m upset?” The princess asked with her signature sly smile, like she was the same old perfect Azula fully in control of her life.

 

“Drop the act, Azula,” Ty Lee tapped her foot angrily. Apparently living with the Earth Kingdom commoners made her pick up some unrefined habits.  “Give me a reason not tell Suki where you’ve been.”

 

“You followed me?” Azula masked her alarm under a layer of anger. This was not good. If Zuko was here, she could maybe explain, but Suki wouldn’t understand.

 

“I did my job. Why did you visit  _ him _ ?” 

 

Azula studied her perfectly filed nails. “Obviously, I was plotting evil conspiracy to overthrow my dear brother, claim the throne to myself and dominate the world,” she replied glibly.

 

Ty Lee looked at her like she hadn’t heard Azula making the same joke countless times before, like she was crazy.

 

The princess rolled her eyes.  “Oh, cheer up, or did you leave your sense of humour on Kyoshi Island?”

 

“What did you talk about with your father?” Ty Lee repeated the question.

 

Azula closed her eyes. 

 

~

 

_ “Can you tell me what this is?” she held up the red piece.  _

 

_ Ozai gave it a cursory glance. If he knew what it was, his face didn’t betray him. “Why do you want to know?”  _

 

_ Azula forced a thin smile on her face. “Knowledge is power. You taught me that, Father. Whoever left these behind - they could serve a purpose yet.” _

 

_ “So it’s true. You serve that traitor weakling,” he hissed with hatred. _

 

_ “My allegiance is where it’s always been. With the true Fire Lord.” The best lies were the ones that others told themselves. Father would be sure she was talking about him. But she could have been just as easily talking about Zuko. Or herself. _

 

_ “Then break me out right now,” Ozai taunted. “But you can’t bend, can you, Azula? Your fire wasn’t ripped out of you, but you simply lost it because you weren’t strong enough. A failure.”  His words were poison, just like Zuko had said and Azula was not immune to them like she imagined. _

 

_ “Temporary setback,” she replied, forcing her smile not to falter. _

 

_ ~ _

 

“We compared notes, Ty Lee. Can you imagine they have fireflakes night twice a week in prison? It’s outrageous. In the loony bin we only got them once a week.” The cackle she let out was meant to be sarcastic, instead, it sounded surprisingly bitter.

 

“Once every two weeks,” Ty Lee corrected her quietly. 

 

Azula froze. “What?”

 

“In the prison. They gave us fire-flakes only once every two weeks,” Ty Lee explained with just a hint of hurt and recrimination in her voice, that made her sound like the real, flesh-and-blood Ty Lee instead of a stupid, lifeless Earth Kingdom puppet her uncle would send as a throwaway gift from the frontline. Anger was better than indifference. 

 

“I guess it should be an item for the prison reform,” Azula noted only half-jokingly. Even if she didn’t do tearful apologies, she always listened. 

 

 “Why did you visit him in secret?” Ty Lee moved closer and sat next to Azula, mirroring her pose, knees pulled to the chin, watching the rain together. Like they used to when they were best friends and would share secrets with each other. Back when secrets were simpler, more straight-forward.

 

“I wanted answers about the red tile we found in the South Pole after the assassination attempt.” Azula opened her palm, revealing the piece that did not belong to a pai sho set. That’s why it was so unsettling, it changed the game from something she knew how to play to something unpredictable.

 

“And did he have any useful information?” Ty Lee asked eagerly.

 

“Not yet.” But I know how to get it, thought Azula.

 

_ ~ _

 

_ The dull yellow-brown eyes didn’t pierce like the ember ones used to, but the cruel curve of his lips was the same. “Perhaps, there is still a way to redeem yourself, my daughter. We need to end it all.” _

 

_ “You want me to kill Zuko?” How utterly predictable. _

 

_ Ozai scoffed. “No. The worthless boy is just a distraction. He will bring himself down with his fanciful ideas soon enough.” _

__

_ “The Avatar then?” Azula guessed. _

 

_ “No, that would be too merciful. I want him to suffer, like I’ve suffered. I want him to lose meaning, and live a long life of pointless existence, knowing that he failed.” Ozai rose to his feet, and even with the bars of the cell dividing them, Azula felt him towering menacingly over her. “I want to end all bending in the world.” _

__

_ “How?” Her mouth was dry like sandpaper. _

 

_ “Kill the dragon, Azula.” How did he even know about Druk?  “And once all bending is gone, we can rule again. Think about it - the strongest army, the best engineering will decide the fate of the world, not a child drunk on spirit-power. Bring me its heart and I’ll give you what you want.”  _

 

_ Azula dug her nails into her palm and focused on the pain. She wasn’t the only one who could find the weakness in people, she learnt that from her father. Ozai’s plan was brilliant in its evil simplicity. And there was a part of her that wanted it to happen, to make them pay, to take away their victory, to have the chance to feel strong again. Another part remembered Druk’s zappy kisses and doing the dragon dance with Zuko in the rising sun. Even if she was cold inside, the flames were unbearably beautiful. _

 

_ “It’s not that simple. The dragon is with Zuko at all times. How do I even know if this piece is important?”  _

 

_ “It’s more important than you can imagine, Azula. Or don’t you want to know what happened to your mother?”  _

 

_ She knew the moment she slipped up and couldn’t quite hide her surprise. She knew that Ozai noticed it too when he smirked like he knew he had won. _

 

_ ~ _

 

“What are you planning?” Ty Lee walked to the window.

 

“I want to protect Zuko as much as anyone here. But you know me, Ty Lee, I work best in the shadows. I have ways, others don’t. But Suki can’t know.” 

 

“I know Zuko trusts you,” Ty Lee nodded, which answered with a resounding no the question Azula didn’t ask:  _ Do you trust me? Trust was for fools and they both had been fooled once already. _

 

“But I want to know what’s going on,” Ty Lee added.

 

Azula’s lips twitched into a small grimace. It would have to do for now. 

 

“Let’s go greet, Uncle. I’m sure he would  _ die _ for a good cup of tea,” the princess hurried to the stair-case.

 

“Azula!” There was just a ghost of a smile in her outrage.

 

Azula smirked. “Ginger is his favourite.”

 


	4. Mango Cream-Pie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Parts of this chapter were inspired by this Tumblr ask.

**Near the Southern Air Temple - Two days before the comet**

 

Kuzon woke up with a start when he heard a twig snap. Ignoring the dread rising in his stomach, he raised his fist engulfed in fire, ready to fight. “Who is there? Stay back!”

“It’s me,” a familiar, gentle voice replied. Gyatso seemed more to float above the ground than to walk.

“Did they change their minds?” Kuzon asked hopefully. 

The meeting with the elders of the Air Temple had been a total disaster. The monks were not at all what Kuzon had expected them to be. They didn’t have Gyatso’s easy laugh. Instead, their faces were strict and they outright accused Kuzon of being a Fire Nation spy trying to set a trap. Despite Gyatso’s intervention, they dismissed the warning Kuzon’s father sent to them. 

“ _Let the Fire Nation come if they are foolish enough - no army stands the chance against an air-temple,” Abbot Ngapo declared._ Kuzon was told to leave immediately. He had left the place bitter, thinking that he had failed, that his father’s sacrifice was all in vain. But now...Maybe Gyatso’s appearance meant that things changed. 

“Do they believe me now?”

“I’m afraid they don’t. But I do. I do believe you,” Gyatso put his hand on Kuzon’s shoulder. “Your father was a man of integrity and the best friend I’ve ever had. And you are a brave, loyal son. This is why I know you can do this.”

“Do what?” Kuzon frowned. He was more than ready to leave this place behind and be reunited with his mother. 

Gyatso whistled and a few more figures appeared from the shadows. Kuzon realized that they were all kids - bald and clad in orange and yellow monk apprentice clothes, just like the ones Aang always wore. None of them had their air-bending master tattoos yet.  Kuzon recognized Zam and Chimi from the beach. Aang was not among them. 

“You have to hide them somewhere safe,” Gyatso motioned towards the children.

That was impossible. “But… I don’t really have anywhere to go. My mother went to her birth island… but I promised my father not to put her in danger.”

“Do you know Ta Min?” Gyatso asked.

Kuzon had a foggy memory of a visit to an old beach house with his father near Shark-Squid Bone Isle where a small, old lady lived alone.

“Yeah…a kind old lady. Made the best mango-cream pie.”

“That’s her. I’m fond of those pies myself. Go and give this to her.” Gyatso handed a pai sho tile to Kuzon. “She’ll know it’s from me and she’ll find a way to help you.”

Kuzon stared at the white lotus tile in his palm. All of this was too confusing. “But how do we go? I have lost all my money at sea.”

“Lucky for you, airbenders come with their own transportation,” Gyatso pointed into the distance where a herd of young sky bison calves waited patiently.  Kuzon’s eyes grew wide with excitement. 

“I’ll get my own bison?” That would be neat. Only air-benders could ever have flying bison. The monks kept the herds under tight control.

At Gyatso’s signal, one of the animals came closer, blinking her large hazel eyes at Kuzon.  “This is Ghama. She’s never chosen anyone as her companion. I’ve always thought that she was waiting for her destiny. This morning, when they brought you up to the airtemple unconscious, she licked your face. Turns out, she was waiting for you.”

Kuzon ran his hands over the shaggy fur of Ghama. She seemed like a gentle creature. “Hello Ghama.”

Gyatso nodded. 

“You need to leave now. Travel at night, try to stay out of sight during the day.”

“You are not coming with us?” Kuzon asked with a heavy heart. 

“No, my place is here.” Gyatso waved back that the temple. 

Kuzon had one more question. It’s been bothering him ever since he set foot in the Air Temple “What about Aang? Where is he?”

Gyatso’s expression changed; the gentle smile was replaced by an inquisitive glare. It felt like he was looking straight into Kuzon’s heart. It was freaky. Kuzon swallowed nervously. Gyatso smiled again. “You are a good friend. I’m going to tell you a secret… If something happens to us, you’ll have to find Aang and help him. Tell him that it’s not his fault and he was exactly where he was meant to be…” 

He leaned closer to Kuzon and started whispering in his ears.

 

-0- 

 **102 AG - Shark-Squid Bone Isle, Fire Nation**  


Zuko turned the map around in his hand, squinting at it. This was frustrating. “It’s supposed to be right here.”

“Maybe we took a wrong turn?” Aang suggested looking around. They were in the thickest part of the forest, with nothing but trees and bushes all around. “There is nobody here.”

As if to prove the Avatar wrong, a weird-looking fellow dressed in colourful clothes, wearing a flower necklace popped out from behind a tree-trunk. “Not quite true Little Arrowhead. If you keep our eyes open, you’ll meet fellow travellers who can lead you where you are meant to go…”

“Little Arrowhead?” Zuko frowned at the guy who was soon joined by two companions dressed in similarly ridiculous outfits. 

Aang broke out in a wide smile. “Chong? Moku? Lily? What are you doing here?”

“You know these people?” Zuko asked Aang. He seemed to befriend the weirdest people. He was worse than Iroh. Maybe it was an old-people thing.

Aang nodded. “They helped us find a secret tunnel near Omashu.” He turned back to the travellers. “I don’t suppose you have a song about lost or hidden airbenders.”

“We can always make one up,” Chong replied, strumming a chord on his guitar. “Flying high, flying high, swirling and twirling on the blue skyyyyyy...”

“That’s not bad…” Moku nodded, starting to beat the rhythm on his lap. Lily span around.

“All together now…” Chong started again the annoying song; this time his companions joined in. “Flying high, flying high…” They all danced; Druk and Momo flew around them in excited circles.

Zuko blinked. He pinched himself. No, it was not a weird dream.The situation was spinning out of control. “Stop!” he yelled over the noise. “We don’t have time for this Aang.” He had to get back to the capital and not chase dreams or made-up songs.

Aang put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “Just wait a little. Last time they were right. At least they got us to the tunnel. We were led here for a reason. They must have the next clue.”

“They seem completely clueless to me,” Zuko muttered.

Chong wrapped his arms around both of them. “You should listen to your little arrowed friend, Brother. He knows that love will take you to places.”

Zuko tore himself out of the weird guy’s embrace. “We don’t want to go to places, we need to find...whatever it is that we are meant to find... and we should be on the move.” He gave a pointed look at Aang who had a penchant to get distracted by song and dance.

“Zuko, you promised you’ll listen to my instincts. I feel strongly about this,” he looked at him pleadingly. Zuko sighed in defeat. It was not crazier than all the other random clues that led them here. Maybe Aang was right, maybe the weird dancing nomads were the key. He gave a little shrug. Aang smiled and turned back to Chong. “Right. Let’s try some tunes for clues. Do you have any songs about the sky?”

“Oh, do we, my friend? The sky is an inspiration for everyone with poetry in their hearts,” Moku nodded. Zuko cringed. People with poetry in their hearts were terrible. He knew from experience that people with poetry in their hearts were excruciating. Listening to these people sounded worse than Uncle Iroh’s music nights.

“Underneath blue skies, I wander with my love…” Chong started a lyrical song. Lily hummed along to the melody.

“That doesn’t sound right..” Aang interrupted them. “I don’t think we want a love song. Anything else?”

They talked in hushed voices for a little while. Chong strummed a more upbeat chord. “We’ll shout, shout, shout to the sky…” They all danced and swayed to a raucous song that sounded like the stuff the sailors used to sing at the bars whenever they stayed at a port.

Aang’s smile started to fade. He seemed a bit less sure of this strategy. “Maybe something about flying bison?” He asked hopefully, not ready to give up yet. 

“I know a song about a flying pig chicken.” Chong nodded. 

Moku snorted. “That’s a good one.”

“There was little pig-chick, over the hills, it was a little pig-chick, bip-bop-bip…” They all danced making flapping wing movements. 

“I can’t take this anymore…” Zuko groaned and walked away on the narrow, faded path deeper into the forest, until the sounds of the guitar faded. Both Druk and Momo seemed to have had enough of the music as well; they chose to follow him searching the trees for bugs. Zuko fumed. Aang was getting his hopes up, convinced that they found something important, but all they had was a dead-end. Sooner or later he had to call it quits. 

A loud shriek interrupted his thoughts. _Oh, no, not again!_ Zuko leapt through the bushes to rescue Momo. He found the lemur and the dragon entangled, fighting over a small cylinder-shaped object. 

Zuko split up the fight, holding up both animals by the neck. “Get along, please,” he scolded them. “Let me see, Momo,” he held out his palm towards the mystery-object. Inside the casing, he found a small scroll. He unrolled it, revealing drawings of a familiar airbending form he had seen Aang use many times. Zuko gasped. _Maybe they weren’t lost after all_. 

“Can you show me, where you found this, Momo?” he asked the lemur. The electric-green eyes blinked in agreement. Zuko followed Momo through the heavy undergrowth to a cave opening. Lighting a fire on his palm, Zuko stepped inside. There were strange signs painted on the wall. Maybe this was the clue. 

He ran back to Aang. The strange group was still singing; this time about heart-shaped clouds. Aang was lying on the ground with a resigned expression on his face. 

“Aang, I think I found the clue,” Zuko pulled him up. 

“You see, Brother? Music will lead the open hearts…” Moku smiled. 

“But I was not led by your music, I was chased away by it,” snapped Zuko. 

“And yet, you ended up exactly where you were meant to go. It sounds to me that we have led you there after all.” Chong said thoughtfully. “Good-bye, little Arrowhead. I hope you’ll find what you are looking for. And you too, Brother. Let the music into your heart.”

“Safe travels,” Aang returned their greeting.

“A song for the road?” Lily asked. 

“No!” Zuko and Aang yelled at the same time and hurried down the path.

  


-0-

 

Aang traced the carving on the wall with trembling fingers. They were etched in clumsily, visibly done in a hurry. But clearly these were written in the ancient symbols of the Air Nomads.

 _Zam. Chimi. Sang. Kiran._ The boys from the Air Temple. His childhood friends. They were here in this cave, long enough to carve their names on the wall. The clearest sign yet that he was not imagining this. The dreams were real. _“_ They were here, Zuko.”

_Simu. Dhozi._

“Who?” Zuko asked with a frown.

 _Kuzon._ Aang heart skipped a beat, remembering how he and Kuzon taught each other to write their names in the ancient symbols of their nations. 

“These were the other boys at the air temple. We used to play together. They were here. They were here with Kuzon. Why else would their names be on the wall?”

“Maybe they came here travelling before the war? You traveled all over the place, didn’t you?” Zuko asked, still skeptical. 

“I was the only one. Gyatso thought it was important…” of course he would. He had already known that Aang was the Avatar. He knew it was important to feel at home in all the four nations. 

“So they came here after you left?”

“Don’t you see? They must have escaped.” This was the proof he was searching for. The voices from his dreams wanted him to come here. Aang felt hope soaring inside him. “You know what this means? There must be airbenders somewhere out there.”

“Aang… Even if they were here a hundred years ago…even if they escaped… that doesn't mean…” Zuko bit his lips not wanting to finish the thought. He didn’t have to. Aang knew exactly what he meant. _It doesn’t mean that they survived._ “If they are out there, why didn’t they come to you when the war ended?”

Of course, Aang asked himself this question. Most answers he could think of, he didn’t like. But there had to be other possibilities that he just couldn’t think of. 

“I don’t know. But our next clue must be here.” 

They searched the cave, but there was nothing else on the walls. Aang turned the ground upside down with earthbending, but there was nothing hidden in the soil either. 

“There is nothing here, Aang. It looks like the end of the road,” Zuko sighed heavily.  Aang shook his head stubbornly. 

“I refuse to give up now. Maybe - maybe if I meditate here, I can find some answers in the spirit world.”

“Fine. But after that we go home,” Zuko said firmly.

Aang sat crossed-legged and closed his eyes.

_He found himself in an empty green meadow. The spirit world was utterly frustrating - Aang still had no control over where he would land in any moment._

“ _Hello! Is anyone around?” he yelled because the eerie emptiness of the place was unnerving._

_“What are you yelling about?” a grumpy voice hissed._

_Aang craned his neck until he saw the half-bird, half-frog creature sitting on the ground._

_“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a bother. I need to find an old friend of mine,” Aang explained. “Maybe you could help me? I’m the Avatar…” he added. His title wasn’t nearly as impressive in the spirit world as in the human world, but ho knew, it might be helpful._

_“A human friend? They are not here. Luckily,” croaked the frog-bird spirit. “You can try it there behind the hills. There are humans there…”_

_Aang bowed to the spirit and dashed off for the hills. As he reached the top, he saw swirling fog in the valley; it echoed with voices of pain, voices of despair. Human voices. Aang hurried towards the fog._

_Before he reached the edge, the spirit of Roku appeared and blocked his way._

_“Aang, you can’t go in there,” he warned sternly._

_“Roku!” exclaimed Aang with irritation and relief. “You have to help me. I need to speak to Kuzon. He knows where the airbenders are.”_

_“You can’t go into the Fog. It’s playing tricks on your mind. You would be lost there, your memory slowly fading,” Roku explained._

_“It’s worth the risk. I need to find my people.”_

_“You are the Avatar, Aang. The entire world is your people. They can’t lose their Avatar. Not now when the peace is so fragile.”_

_Aang’s heart sank. “But how am I going to find the answers?”_

_“You already have everything you need…The spirit realm cannot be used as a shortcut to solve the puzzles of the human world.”_

_“So you can’t tell me anything at all?”_

_An amused smile appeared on Roku’s lips. “Did you know that my wife used to make the best mango-cream pie in the world?”_

_“I meant something important,” Aang grimaced. He was really not in the mood for listening to Roku’s love life. “Something connected to my search."_

_“We are all connected,” Roku explained. “You, me, the frog-bird spirit. Mango-cream pies are important, Aang.”_

_Aang sighed. Maybe Zuko was right. Maybe it was time to call it quits._

  


-0- 

 

Druk curled up in Zuko’s lap to sleep. He listened to the dragon’s soft snores sitting motionless, not wanting to disrupt his nap. Aang sat with eyes closed and from the grimace on his face, he seemed to be having an unpleasant conversation. Zuko yawned, trying to keep his eyes open, but it was a long day of flying and a long week of strange dreams and a long year of endless work…  

_The orange-red curtain of the house blew in the wind carrying a sweet smell. Zuko stepped inside._

_“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you.” A grey-haired, old woman greeted him from the corner. Her eyes were familiar somehow._

_“Do we know each other?” Zuko looked around the small kitchen._

_“In some ways,” the old woman walked slowly to a chest and took out a parchment and some ink._

_“Why am I here?” Zuko asked her._

_“Only you can answer that. Your search led you here,” shrugged the woman._

_“If you know something, you should tell me,” Zuko scowled at her. His scowl usually went a long way of getting things he wanted, especially since he became Fire Lord. But this woman just smiled in that frustrating I-am-in-on-a-secret-you-have-no-idea-about way Iroh sometimes did. She pulled out something from the oven and put it in front of Zuko._

_“Here. Have some mango cream-pie.”_

_“I didn’t come here for a pie. I came here for answers,” Zuko huffed in annoyance._

_“I can only offer you the pie. It’s quite tasty,” the woman winked and took a slice for herself._

_Zuko knew that it was just a dream, which made the pie only a dream pie, but he took a piece anyways. Surprisingly it tasted exquisite - sweet and tangy. It reminded him of something._

_“It tastes like a memory. I remember now - it was my mother’s favourite. I think she once said that there was a special family recipe that was passed down.”_

_“Indeed, family recipes are important…” nodded the old woman with a twinkle in her eye, as she scribbled something on the parchment._

_Zuko leaned over, trying to make out the symbols, but the house, the woman, the parchment all went up in smoke._

_“Wait!!!!”_ yelled Zuko but the dream disappeared.  

He woke up with a start, the same time Aang’s eyes popped open. 

“Any luck?” Zuko asked.

Aang’s grimace didn’t bode well. “No. A waste of time. Just Roku prattling on about how his wife made the best mango cream pie.”

That couldn’t be a coincidence. “Wait. He said mango cream pie?”

“Yep. He said - and I quote - mango cream pies are important, Aang.” Aang said on a deep voice, with a very bad imitation of Fire Nation accent. “How am I going to do this if I can’t even get my former life take me seriously?” he sighed dramatically.

Zuko bit his lip. He could stay quiet. He could end the wild goose-rabbit chase right at this point and go back to the palace. But the mango cream pie had to mean something. Roku must have said that deliberately.  Which also meant that the old lady in his dream was his great-grandmother. “I think he was trying to give you a clue, Aang. And I know where we are going next…”

“Wait? What? Where?” Aang’s face changed from shock to surprise to confusion.

“Ember Island…” smiled Zuko. “Come on, I’ll explain on the way.”

 

-0-

**102 AG - Fire Nation Royal Palace**

 

Iroh was already in the dining room when Azula arrived. He stood up heavily and bowed politely when he saw her enter. 

“Uncle,” Azula returned the bow as superficially as she could get away with. He still made her uneasy. And it was frustrating that Zuko called in the old man whenever he had some important business with his ragtag team of ridiculous friends.

“Niece. Just in time for a nice cup of tea,” he smiled pleasantly.

“Let me guess - ginger,” Azula sniffed into the air.

“You know me too well,” chuckled Iroh. “It’s the best thing to refresh after a long ride on the airship. I was hoping you could bring me up to speed?” he gave her a sly look. It made Azula feel like she was under cross-examination.

“Why? Your spy network is slacking?” she asked sharply.

Iroh took a long sip from his cup watching her above the brim intently. “If you are referring to the White Lotus, Princess Azula, I have to disappoint you. It’s more a group of fellow pai sho enthusiasts, really.”

Azula held up her hands to stop him from going off on an endless pai sho tangent, “In any case, Uncle. Our spy network is reporting trouble from the provinces. There are those organizing against Zuko.”

The pleasant smile on Iroh’s face was replaced by concerned wrinkles. Predictably, he was fully interested now. 

“That is troubling, indeed. Do you know anything about their plans?”

“I would, if Zuko weren’t so damned stubborn about his high-minded ideals.” Azula stared into Iroh’s eyes. This was her window of opportunity to interrogate those people. All she had to do was convince Iroh that the Fire Lord’s safety took precedence over pipe-dreams of peaceful reign. “Uncle, it’s up to us to do what it takes if he won’t.”

Iroh looked uncomfortable. “Zuko hopes that our people can change,” he said evasively, staring into his tea cup as if the steaming liquid could provide the answer to the dilemma.

Azula felt his hesitation, so pushed on. “You know I’m right, don’t you? If we don’t nip this rebellion in the bud, we are risking an all-out civil war. He listens to you.”

“We need to consider carefully…”

“Princess…” a fearful voice interrupted.

“What is it? Who are you?” she snapped at the intruder who started shaking immediately under Azula’s firm gaze.

He dropped to his knees even though Zuko had put an end to all kowtowing in the palace as soon as he became Fire Lord. “I’m the Archivist. You ordered to see immediately what we found about Councillor Kuse.”

 _Right. Zuko’s cryptic request_. “So what did you find?” she asked impatiently. 

“I am afraid this is all, Your Highness,” he handed her a small scroll.

Azula unrolled the parchment. It read: _On the order of Fire Lord Sozin, we the members of the secret tribunal find Councillor Kuse..._ The rest of the document was scratched out.

Iroh peaked curiously over her shoulder. “Does this have to do with the mysterious mission of the Fire Lord and the Avatar?”

Azula ignored his question.

“But this is all blotted out. What does this symbol mean?” she pointed to the top left corner.

“It’s the Vault, Your Highness,” the Archivist explained.

“What is the Vault?” 

“The most secret archive of the Fire Nation that had been sealed by Fire Lord Sozin himself, Princess Azula. Only the Chief Archivist knows of its existence and it can only be opened jointly by the Fire Lord and the Great Sage.”

“So it’s an even more secret secret archive?” Iroh asked slightly amused.

“Did you know this, Uncle?” Azula turned to him accusingly. It was troubling that there would be something of this importance in the Fire Nation that she wasn't aware of.

“I had no idea,” Iroh shook his head.

“So take us to this Vault,” Azula ordered.

“But the Fire Lord... is…” the Archivist stuttered.

Azula pursed her lips and drew her eyebrows into her most intimidating scowl. “My Uncle is interim Fire Lord. Or do you question his authority?”

“No, Your Highness... Highnesses. Of course not. I will send for Great Sage Shiyu at once,” the Archivist bowed to both of them, his hand trembling and retreated from the room.

The Vault was hidden under the palace, accessible through a secret corridor even Azula didn’t know about. They paused in front of the heavy door, decorated with a huge dragon head with sparkling red eyes. 

“It is said that the door can only be opened by lightning bolts, shot at the same time into the two eyes of the dragon,” the Archivist explained.

 _Dragons and lightning. It was so Sozin._ Azula felt the familiar empty pangs under her skin as she watched Iroh and Shiyu go through the circular lightning-bending motions, blue sparks crackling around them. The red eyes lit up as the lightning reached them, and the door opened with a loud creak. Cold, musty air hit them in the nose. 

The room was filled with long rows of filing cabinets. The Archivist lit a flame in his palm and examined the inscriptions. “It’s the same filing system as our normal archives. I should find it in a moment.” He pulled out drawers at amazing speed. “Here it is, the file on Councillor Kuse. It’s entitled the Solstice Conspiracy.”

Azula and Iroh leaned over the parchment reading it together.

_The members of the Solstice Conspiracy, known traitors and Air Nomad collaborators who questioned, opposed and attempted to stop Fire Lord Sozin’s glorious conquest. For their heinous crimes, we, the secret war tribunal sentence them to death:_

_Councillor Kuse, found guilty of intending to disclose secret war plans to the enemies of the Fire Nation,_

_Fire Sage Shin, found guilty of destroying all known information about the identity of the Avatar,_

_General Miku, found guilty of attempting to murder our beloved Fire Lord Sozin,_

_General Rinoko…._

Azula looked at the long list of names. People who questioned Sozin’s plans. People who tried to stop the attack. People...who could have perhaps changed the course of history. People who were believed to be traitors then but would be celebrated as heroes now. Fire Nation citizens with the capacity to think for themselves, to march against the beat of Sozin’s bloodthirsty drums, to risk their lives for what they believed was right. _Idealistic fools, if they thought they could get away with it._  

Still, the names spoke of a history that Sozin wanted to bury because those ideals threatened his plans. Azula couldn’t help but wonder if it would have made a difference had she known of the dissenters. If she was free to make up her own mind.

Iroh put a hand on her shoulder. “Do you see it now?” he asked quietly. 

**Author's Note:**

> Main post-canon events in The Great Eggspedition:
> 
> Zuko, Sokka and Suki set out to save dragon eggs that were stolen from Sun Warrior Island. Azula is their only lead, so she joins in the road trip. Zuko hatches one of the eggs and Druk is born, while Azula faces the dragons out of spite and loses her fire-bending in the process. After their return to the Fire Nation, Zuko and Azula have a fragile reconciliation, with Azula being reinstalled as princess. On a trip to the South Pole there is an assassination attempt against Zuko, where the only lead is a red pai sho tile. 
> 
> *****
> 
> Thoughts and comments are welcome as always. Or say hello on [Tumblr](https://royaltealovingkookiness.tumblr.com/)


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